As far back as his days in Connecticut, when Rudy Gay was brought up in a conversation, the word “potential” often followed.

Gay always was seen as a player who could be a superstar, with the talent to be a perennial fixture at the mid-season NBA all-star game.

That never happened in Memphis, though Gay still usually led that club in scoring and flashed his considerable upside many times each season.

But now he’s been brought to Toronto to live up to the hype. To be “the man.”

Gay sure sounds up for the challenge.

“Definitely. I think I can do it here. I think I have a lot more to give,” Gay said after being introduced to the media before he exploded out of the gate against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, particularly in a high-flying first half.

“Being in a system in Memphis, I wouldn’t say it limits me, because we won a lot of games and that’s what it’s about. I think I definitely played into a system, a different system,” he said, trying to tip-toe around the fact that he thinks he was indeed limited in Memphis.

In Toronto, he’ll be the focus, the go-to-guy, the face of the franchise.

He won’t be the subject of trade rumours, which Gay admitted Friday wore on him, and he won’t be reminded any time soon about what more he has to do to please his detractors.

And perhaps, most importantly for Gay, he is now playing for a franchise that instead of constantly planning ahead to life without him, instead, constantly schemed to find out what life would be like with him.

“It’s just good to be wanted. To start over in an organization where they reached out and tried to get me. I feel like I’ve been drafted again. I get on (Bryan Colangelo) because he didn’t draft me, but this is almost like another draft. Almost,” Gay said.

Gay wants to live up to the billing, while still fitting in and seeing his teammates thrive, as well.

“I think more than anything a franchise person has to understand that it’s a team game. I’m not coming here just to score a lot of points. I’m coming here to make my team better. I’m not coming here to lessen anybody’s role or anything. I’m coming here to make this team better. Some nights that might be scoring points, some nights that might be assisting and some nights it might be rebounding. As long as those (wins) keep adding up,” he said.

“I’ve been in situations, I’ve seen the other end of it. I’m coming from a winning team and I’ve seen the other end and I’ve been a part of it. I know how to win. I think that helps.”

Clippers forward Caron Butler attended UConn prior to Gay and believes his fellow former Husky can shed that “permanent potential” label as a Raptor.

“I think he’s going to bring a lot of versatility, a lot of scoring, a lot of leadership. I think he’s going to be an all-star in the Eastern Conference. I think it’s a great situation for him,” Butler told the Toronto Sun.

“And (having played) under coach (Dwane) Casey in Dallas, I think he’s going to put him in great situations to be very successful.

“With (Kyle Lowry) and DeRozan emerging, that’s a good core, a good young nucleus to build around and have a good cornerstone. There is going to be some good basketball coming out of Toronto.”

That’s the plan and you could see ample evidence of it on Friday night.

While he didn’t stand out defensively, Gay said the knock that he is an all-offence, no-defence performer is bogus.

“That’s not fair,” he said, breaking into an explanation that drew vigorous head nods from the defensive-minded Casey.

“If you look back and see at the end of the games, I guard the best player. I take that challenge. None of that really matters to me, what people say. I know at the end of the day, I want to win. Whatever it takes, whether its getting a stop, hitting the last shot, I’ll be the person to do it.”

It has been a long time since the Raptors have had a player with this much swagger, let alone talent.

You might have to reach back to Vince Carter who, much like Gay, never was able to take advantage of all of his gifts.

But Gay gets another shot here and, as Carter once did in dark times, has a chance to put Toronto back on the NBA map.

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